Yasmin jerked back and to cover her sister’s surprise, she squeezed her arm. “I’ll call you, okay?”

Aisha looked into her face suspiciously. “Okay. Call me tomorrow after your exam and tell me how it went.”

Yasmin agreed, then watched as Aisha headed for her apartment, which was a few blocks away. She waved and her sister waved back as she reached the corner, disappearing from view a few seconds later.

Taking a deep breath, Yasmin turned toward the street, intent on confronting Volkan and demanding to know why he was there. Before she could check for traffic, hard hands reached out to grip her. She gasped and looked up. Volkan was staring down at her, his eyes burning with anger.

“Volkan!” she said, her voice high with anxiety. “What are you doing here?”

“I think the better question is, what are you doing here?” His voice held a sharp edge to it. “You said you would be studying all day.”

She felt her face flush with guilt and annoyance. The annoyance was because she had nothing to feel guilty about, and she hated that he could make her feel as though she had to explain herself.

“I ate supper with my sister,” she said, glancing around. The sidewalk was bustling with people, but only a few cast curious glances their way. “We see each other often and she wanted me to take a break from studying.”

“I wanted you to take a break from studying,” he said, his hands tightening on her arms. “But you told me you were busy all evening. If I’d known you needed a break, I would have taken you out myself.”

Yasmin wasn’t sure what to say. He was jealous of her sister, which wasn’t cool. He needed to back off, but she didn’t know how to tell him. He’d given her all those gifts. Did she owe him? No, of course she didn’t. She hadn’t asked for any of them. He’d insisted.

Yasmin tried to take a step back, tried to break his hold, but he refused to let her go. Suddenly, she felt vulnerable, realizing he could easily hurt her. It was a strange feeling since she was standing on a busy sidewalk in broad daylight. Yet she sensed that he didn’t care. That he would do whatever he wanted to do, regardless of their surroundings and the potential consequences.